My partner was waiting for confirmation.
“Leo?”
“Jordan, what you got?”
Leo’s voice was like an echo in my head. It was always like that, as if the sound had to be pushed through layers to get inside. I supposed that was how it happened, and I really didn’t care. I was just glad the connection couldn’t be used to read thoughts.
“Mission Shadow Seek completed and confirmed.”
“Good job. Did everything go smoothly?”
“No. Suspect killed. Looked like a hired hit. I’m getting out of here as we speak.”
“Damn! Fill me in later, Jordan. Just get the hell out of there.”
“See you in ten.”
I quickly shifted back to human and got dressed. Climbing the stairs quickly, I exited the basement, locking the door behind me. When I reached the living room, I couldn’t help but stop and look once more at Layla. Her form lay still and silent.
For some reason I was expecting her to get up, her wounds to be healed. It had to be the sex making me think that way. One minute we were intimate, the next she was dead. My brain was having a hard time wrapping itself around that.
I remembered her saying she had something to tell me. Was she going to confess to working with Alexander? Would she have let me help her? I cursed myself. I could have talked to her if my head wasn’t so full of Sam.
I shook my head. I had to get out of there. Nothing could be done for Layla but catch her murderer, and that was a done deal. I gave Layla one last regretful look and got the hell out.
15
Sam
It had been a couple of weeks, and I hadn’t seen Jordan again since that one time when Alex was carrying me to the bathroom. I heard him occasionally talking with Alex, their voices too low for me to make out what they were saying, but I definitely felt some tension there.
Sometimes I would swear I saw someone standing in the doorway, yet every time I looked up, there was no one. I briefly wondered if it was Jordan and thought maybe he would come in and talk to me soon. When he never did, I realized the person I was seeing was probably Alex checking in on me.
He, on the other hand had not kept his distance, even after that disastrous kiss. My cheeks burned remembering how wantonly my body reacted to his touch. I tried my best to put up a cool front, but it was getting more and more difficult.
Alex wore me down day by day, sitting with me when I was restless, talking, watching movies, reading to each other. We ate almost every meal together. He even started asking about the baby. Small inquiries, like, How’s baby girl today? And, Is little Ava trying to kick her way out?
When he helped me bathe, it was the same. He talked to me as if it was no big deal that I was sitting naked in a tub. My body continued to react to every touch he granted me with, but thankfully, he always kept his distance.
We hadn’t had any more serious conversations since I told him why I lied about terminating the pregnancy. That wouldn’t last, I knew. He seemed to be determined, but what exactly he wanted was a mystery. Either he was just trying to make a bad situation better by being friendly, or he wanted to be part of the baby’s life.
I panicked a little when I thought of being around Alex for the baby’s sake. I would have to see him, often, watch him interact with our baby girl. He would be an amazing, loving father. I knew, because he was a good man, a caring man, who would never love me as he would love this child growing in my womb.
I roughly wiped a stray tear off my cheek, chastising myself for such selfish thoughts. It would be a wonderful thing if Alex wanted to know his little girl, and I would do nothing to stop him. No matter how I felt about him or Jordan, I would keep a brave face for my child.
“Knock, knock,” came a familiar voice from the open doorway.
I wiped my face quickly and gave Alex a bright smile. It must not have been convincing. Alex strode to the bed where I lay, his eyebrows lowered in concern.
“Sam, are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” I waved my hand in the air as if it was no big deal. “Hormones, you know. Nothing to worry about,” I mumbled.
He nodded thoughtfully. “I read about that. Is there anything I can do?”
I gave him a small smile, even as tears threatened to fall once more. He was so kind to look after me and his generosity was making it much more difficult to keep my head clear. I could easily fall into his arms and beg him to love me.
I looked away, ashamed at what my hormones were doing to me. My body felt on fire, ready for his touch at a moment’s notice, yet my emotions were everywhere. I couldn’t decide between attacking him and demanding him to fuck me, or crying my eyes out.